The Polish capital city, Warsaw, offers the most value for money for fans of
museums, galleries and cultural events, according to recent Post Office
research

Highbrow holidaymakers be aware - Warsaw is the cheapest city for visitors seeking art and history, according to Post Office Travel Money. Its annual comparison of the cost of cultural city breaks revealed that six tickets to museums and galleries in Warsaw cost £70 – less than a third of the cost for Vienna (£223), Amsterdam (£223), Barcelona (£242) and Paris (£252). This is partly due to the strength of the pound, which has risen by 13 per cent against the Polish zloty since 2009.

In the Eurozone, Dublin (£102) and Rome (£132) are the most affordable cities. Prices for all cities were for the second most expensive tickets available in each establishment.

London is the most expensive city, with six tickets in early October totalling £256. The tickets were for the British Museum, Tate Modern, Buckingham Palace, Royal Ballet (Manon at the Royal Opera House), English National Opera (Otello at the London Coliseum), London Symphony Orchestra (Mendelssohn at the Barbican).

This was despite the fact that the capital offers free entry to museums and galleries, with expensive seats being offered for opera and ballet performances ratcheting up the total spend on tickets. (Those seeking cheaper tickets for the Royal Opera House, for example, can of course book them in advance for as little as £6). Prices are dropping in London however, with this year’s total more than a 20 per cent decrease on that in 2009.

Elsewhere in Eastern Europe, Budapest (£80 for the six cultural highlights) rivals Warsaw for low prices. These entry costs may have risen locally but a 27 per cent improvement in sterling’s value against the Hungarian forint means that a visit to the State Opera House to see the National Ballet perform The Nutcracker costs just £15.

Similarly, a 23 per cent strengthening of the pound against the Czech koruna makes Prague (£93) an appealing choice also for culture lovers.

Prices in good-value Dublin and Rome have also fallen in recent years, by more than 19 per cent in Dublin and by a remarkable 36 per cent in Rome – the biggest drop of any city. Those conducting the survey noted that the options for cultural nights out in Rome by far outweighed those in Dublin however. In contrast, prices in Paris had increased by more than 90 per cent from 2009.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “We based our report on the idea that people would want to visit galleries and museums every day on a short break and spend evenings at music-based events. What we found was that while every city surveyed boasts world-class cultural attractions, prices vary dramatically. This means culture vultures can save hundreds of pounds by doing their homework before booking and swap expensive cities for cheaper ones.”

Nearly half of British holidaymakers would describe themselves as a “culture vulture” the Post Office also said.